Using Excel’s “LAMBDA” Feature to Produce Multi-Stage Stock Pricing Functions for the Classroom

Excel’s new “=LAMBDA” function is applied to multi-stage stock pricing. This provides a context for implementing the =LAMBDA function, a greater understanding of the concept of the time value of money, and a reduction in the complexity of performing the calculation. The =LAMBDA functions lessens the need for using VBA and macros and only requires basic knowledge of Excel function syntax

A Simplified Approach to Understanding the Kalman Filter Technique

The Kalman filter is a time series estimation algorithm that is applied extensively in the field of engineering and recently (relative to engineering) in the field of finance and economics. However, presentations of the technique are somewhat intimidating despite the relative ease of generating the algorithm. This article presents the Kalman filter in a simplified manner and produces an example of an application of the algorithm in Excel. This scaled-down version of the Kalman filter can be introduced in the (advanced) undergraduate classroom as well as the graduate classroom

Black-Scholes Option Pricing and Greeks Using Excel’s “LAMBDA” Function

The =LAMBDA function within Excel provides a powerful new tool for investors and analysts. In this treatment, we show how to create a function that calculates an option’s intrinsic value, price, and delta based on the Black-Scholes model. Other option Greek functions and calculations are available in a downloadable file. The LAMBDA function is not limited to the Black-Scholes model and has important advantages over Excel’s previous solution of creating user-defined functions in VBA

Crypto Currency Exchange and Mining Excel Simulations

The mathematics underlying blockchain-based cryptocurrencies is beyond the scope of most undergraduate finance programs. However, students should understand the intuition behind blockchain so that they might better understand how to apply this technology to future cases. In this paper, we develop a mathematically simple digital signature example and a mathematically simple proof-of-work simulation for classroom use

Forthcoming Publications - A

This research introduces a unique multiple choice exam design to observe and measure the degree to which students copy answers from their peers. Using data collected from the exam, an empirical experiment is conducted to determine whether random seat assignment deters cheating relative to a control group of students allowed to choose their seats. Empirical results demonstrate a significant decline in measured cheating within the assigned seating sample. This study contributes to the literature by providing a measurement of actual cheating frequency among students, as opposed to relying on reported cheating in anonymous surveys, and by demonstrating that an easily implemented deterrent can significantly reduce instances of cheating

Student Motivation and Perseverance: Do They Explain College Graduation?

  We examine whether college students’ persistence in finding a suitable major field of study influences the likelihood of graduation. We find that students who make an effort to select a suitable major early in their college careers graduate in a more timely fashion. Although changing majors is associated with delayed graduation, struggling students can improve graduation likelihood by switching to a more suitable major. However, performance improvement after switching is necessary for successful completion of a degree. These results indicate that colleges and universities should allocate resources to supporting students in their search for an appropriate major and empower students by providing course guidance and counseling.

Concerning the Art of Test Making

Whereas the academic literature offers significant instruction concerning how to write individual, quality MC questions, it is difficult to find guidance on how to construct a balanced overall exam. In this session we will present the results of our attempt to create a quality comprehensive final exam for our undergraduate core course in finance. This past semester, we created an exam that we believed had a proper mix of question levels using Bloom\u27s taxonomy as our guide. Our belief was that all students would be able to correctly answer all of the lowest level questions, B students would be able to correctly answer the mid-level questions, and only A students would be able to correctly answer the highest level questions. We will present our data for over 350 students, showing whether in fact our exam followed this pattern, comparing final exam scores to student course average and to overall GPA

Observed Cheating and the Effects of Random Seat Assignment

Using a multiple choice exam design that allows us to empirically measure the degree to which students copy answers from their peers, we conduct an experiment to determine whether random seat assignment deters cheating relative to a control group of students allowed to choose their seats. Our results demonstrate a significant decline in measured cheating within the assigned seating sample. This study contributes to the literature by providing a measurement of actual cheating frequency among students, as opposed to relying on reported cheating in anonymous surveys, and by demonstrating that an easily implemented deterrent can significantly reduce instances of cheating